Last Glacial pluvial periods evident in subaqueous speleothems from Australia’s southern arid-margin

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dc.contributor.authorGould-Whaley, Cen_AU
dc.contributor.authorDrysdale, RNen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMay, JHen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHellstrom, JCen_AU
dc.contributor.authorTreble, PCen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGrieg, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorCheng, Hen_AU
dc.contributor.authorBuswell, Cen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2023-03-30T22:11:29Zen_AU
dc.date.available2023-03-30T22:11:29Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2022-12-06en_AU
dc.date.statistics2023-03-29en_AU
dc.description.abstractArchives from Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre) basin indicate at least three distinct periods of lake filling during the Last Glacial Period. The headwaters of the megalake lie as far north as -19 °, therefore filling events are indicative of increased intensity of the Indo-Australian Summer Monsoon (IASM). However, due to the nature of unconsolidated materials, these archives are limited in how precisely they can constrain the timing of Last Glacial pluvial periods, and they cannot capture millennial-scale climate variability. Speleothems from Mairs Cave (Flinders Ranges, South Australia), present an opportunity to address these issues. The cave lies on the boundary between the arid and semi-arid regions and currently receives rainfall from both the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SHWW) and the IASM. The cave contains pendulites: stalactites with an external overgrowth of subaqueously precipitated calcite. The stalactites were initially submerged ~ 89 ka by rising groundwaters, which flooded the cave. From that point forward, the pendulites grew subaqueously during periods of regional groundwater recharge. Preliminary findings suggest periods of subaqueous growth align with higher Southern Hemisphere summer insolation, suggesting the site received enhanced tropical rainfall due to moisture delivery from the IASM. Growth rate and magnesium concentrations both appear to be responsive to millennial-scale climate change, exhibiting increases during both Heinrich events and the cold limbs of Dansgaard-Oeschger events. This is consistent with increased delivery of tropical moisture due to southerly incursions of the IASM. The study site lies near the intersection of two ‘superhighways’ of early human expansion proposed by Crabtree et al. (2021). The cave is also 200 km directly south of the Warratyi shelter, one of the earliest sites of human occupation in southern-central Australia. Therefore, the palaeoclimate record to emerge from this research could potentially provide a more detailed climatic contextualisation for this period of human history.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationGould-Whaley, C., Drysdale, R., May, J., Hellstrom, J., Treble, P., Grieg, A., Cheng, H., & Buswell, C. (2022). Last Glacial pluvial periods evident in subaqueous speleothems from Australia’s southern arid-margin. Paper presented to the AQUA 2022 Conference, 6-8th December, Adelaide (pp. 51-52). Retrieved from: https://aqua.org.au/conference/aqua-2022/aqua-2022-conference-program-and-abstracts/en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate8 December 2022en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencenameAQUA 2022 Conferenceen_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceAdelaideen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate6 December 2022en_AU
dc.identifier.pagination51-52en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://aqua.org.au/conference/aqua-2022/aqua-2022-conference-program-and-abstracts/en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/14763en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherAustralasian Quaternary Association Inc.en_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectLakesen_AU
dc.subjectMaterialsen_AU
dc.subjectClimatesen_AU
dc.subjectCavesen_AU
dc.subjectCalciteen_AU
dc.subjectGround wateren_AU
dc.subjectMagnesiumen_AU
dc.titleLast Glacial pluvial periods evident in subaqueous speleothems from Australia’s southern arid-marginen_AU
dc.typeConference Abstracten_AU
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